mischa

artistic statement

These days I’m driven by the Classical ideal of restraint, and by the aesthetics and traditions of textile arts. I’m drawn to the applied and decorative arts, the practice of adornment; this is work that doesn’t assert itself vigorously, but which is created and executed in accordance with a long-standing tradition. That many of these decorative practices were historically gendered by cultural ideals of creativity and literacy is further reason to investigate my artistic heritage. I have a sense that my music resides uncomfortably just inside the margins—it is neither exaggerated nor understated enough. Balancing that unease against deliberate restraint is where I find nuance flourishing.

bio

Mischa Salkind-Pearl's music has been performed by ensembles around the U.S., Japan, Germany, and Italy. Boston Classical Review named his opera, Troubled Water, (September 2015, Guerilla Opera) the Best Premiere of 2015. Recent and upcoming projects include a fellowship to attend the 2017 International Gugak Workshop in Seoul, an ongoing collaboration with Boston-based artist Nathalie Miebach, and a commission for Semiosis Quartet. Ensembles and soloists he has composed for include Guerilla Opera, ensemble mise-en, Chamber Cartel, Transient Canvas, Diagenesis Duo, and Callithumpian Consort. His work, A Poppy of Erasure, was recently included in the exhibition "Intersections: Masters of Line and Space" at the Akron Art Museum. Mischa is artistic director for Boston's Equilibrium Concert Series and ensemble, an organization that presents concerts highlighting the music of Boston's diverse contemporary music community. He is Assistant Professor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, teaching in the Theory and English as a Second Language programs. His music can be heard on the Ludovico Ensemble's portrait CD of his work, I Might Be Wrong, and on Chen Li Music's 2017 CD, Pluralities. He is composer-in-residence for the Ludovico Ensemble.